How Long is Overtime in WNBA? WNBA Overtime Rules Explained

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The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 89-81 on Monday, June 9, in the first overtime victory of the WNBA 2025 season. Janelle Salaun led the Valkyries with 21 points, eight rebounds and one assist while Kayla Thornton dropped 18 points, 11 rebounds and one assist. Three other players, including Carla Leite, Temi Fagbenle and Monique Billings finished with double-digit scores. 

The Valkyries dominated their rivals in the final moments of overtime and outscored the Sparks 11-2 in the last 3:47. The victory marked their second consecutive, and fourth overall triumph of the season. As stated earlier, this was the first case when action moved to overtime in the 2025 WNBA season.

But what is overtime, and how long is overtime in the WNBA? Here, we have curated a quick guide for fans to go through the overtime rules in the rising league. 

What is Overtime in WNBA? 

As the name suggests, overtime (OT) is the extra period allotted to a game if the match is tied or the score is the same at the end of regulation play. In some sports, overtime is played only if the game is required to have a clear winner, or only one team or players can advance to the next round. It is to be noted that every sport has different rules for overtime or extra periods. 

Talking about the WNBA, as competition is getting more intense among the franchises, overtimes are becoming extremely common these days. If a WNBA game ends with both teams at the same score after the standard duration of four 10-minute long quarters, action moves into an additional period, known as overtime. 

What Ks the Duration of Overtime in a WNBA Game? 

In the WNBA, the duration of an overtime period is five minutes, similar to that in the NBA. In case the score remains tied even after the completion of the extra period, another overtime will be played until there is one winner. 

What Are the WNBA Overtime Rules? 

As mentioned, an overtime period of five minutes is utilized to determine the winner in a game if the score is tied at the end of the regular gameplay. According to WNBA rule book, To proceed in overtime, “play shall resume in 120 seconds without change of baskets for any of the overtime periods required.”

During overtime, each team is allowed one regular timeout as well one 20-second timeout. It is to be noted that unused regular timeouts from the second half couldn’t be carried into overtime. However, per WNBA rules, “one unused regular or 20-second timeout(s) can be carried over as an additional 20-second timeout, with a maximum of two 20-second timeouts per team permitted in any overtime period. There is no restriction as to when a team must call its timeouts during any overtime period.”